#standalone – Page 6 – Avonna Loves Genres

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: Kingdom on Fire: Kareem, Wooden, Walton, and the Turbulent Days of the UCLA Basketball Dynasty

Book Description

Few basketball dynasties have reigned supreme like the UCLA Bruins did over college basketball from 1965–1975 (seven consecutive titles, three perfect records, an eighty-eight-game winning streak that remains unmatched). At the center of this legendary franchise were the now-iconic players Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Bill Walton, naturally reserved personalities who became outspoken giants when it came to race and the Vietnam War. These generational talents were led byJohn Wooden, a conservative counterweight to his star players whose leadership skills would transcend the game after his retirement. But before the three of them became history, they would have to make it—together.

Los Angeles native and longtime sportswriter for the Los Angeles Times, Scott Howard Cooper draws on more than a hundred interviews and extensive access to many of the principal figures, including Wooden’s family to deliver a rich narrative that reveals the turmoil at the heart of this storied college basketball program. Making the eye-opening connections between UCLA and the Nixon administration, Ronald Reagan, Muhammad Ali, and others, Kingdom on Fire puts the UCLA basketball team’s political involvement and influence in full relief for the first time. The story of UCLA basketball is an incredible slice of American history that reveals what it truly takes to achieve and sustain greatness while standing up for what you believe in.

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Elise’s Thoughts

Kingdom on Fire by Scott Howard-Cooper is a wonderful book to read during March Madness. College basketball has changed over the years, but not for the better with the days of selfish players, and defense being a strategy of the past. This is why this book is so relevant today because it shows how the game used to be played and what is missing in basketball today.

The unlikely trio of John Wooden, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (formerly known as Lew Alcindor), and Bill Walton created one of the greatest dynasties in sports history. From 1964 to 1975 the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) basketball team won 10 national championships, including seven in a row, and amassed four perfect seasons. This seems like today an unheard feat considering college basketball teams are hampered by the “NIL”, the portal transfer and “one-and-done.” The three together had a winning attitude set against the turmoil in America of the 1960s and 1970s.

This is a must read that captures the basketball history of that era and the cultural unrest regarding civil rights and the Vietnam War. The author fascinatingly weaves together sports, politics, and history within the contexts of UCLA basketball.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why the title?

Scott Howard-Cooper: The title came about because I was struck that the UCLA Bruins obviously had this empire, this kingdom, and this program at the peak for so many years. I also wanted to put it with the backdrop of the times in America of the sixties and seventies. There was so many things going around the Bruin basketball players. The meat of the book is the arrival of Lew Alcindor before he became Kareem Abdul- Jabbar, through the departure of Bill Walton.

EC: Why write it now?

SHC: I wanted to write it now because this season that just finished is the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the seven consecutive championships. One year from now will be the fiftieth anniversary of Coach John Wooden’s last year.

EC: Do you think Coach Wooden was the best basketball coach ever?

SHC: I do, but I also think he would not think so. He was not a great coach in basketball strategy and was the first to say he was not a good x’s and o’s coach. He was not the guy who would ‘rule the chess board’, never would outsmart someone. Looking at the preparation and the system he had in place, the way he was able to mesh talents and personalities for so long, year after year, is remarkable. The times need to be factored in. He kept everyone focused. He also had the greatest coaching staff of all time. His assistants were invaluable in the strategy and the recruiting.

EC: Isn’t one of the things that made him great is his ability to know his weaknesses and hire assistant coaches to supplement that?

SHC: This is one of the reasons he was so great. He did not want yes men. He wanted people to disagree with him. He wanted smart people around him. Assistant Coach Jerry Norman played a role in the early strategy sessions. Another assistant coach, Gary Cunningham, was Lew Alcindor’s first coach of the freshman team. Other great assistant coaches were Denny Crum and Frank Arnold. He wanted to know what his assistant coaches were thinking. I do not think it was just a coincidence that Cunningham, Norman, and Crum played for Wooden.

EC: Do you think he had the players leave their politics at the door?

SHC: Yes and no. The politics and the issues going on in society were always with the players. Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton could have brought the whole dynasty down if they were about ego, worried about how many points they were getting, or wanting to bring the protests to the courts, which they could have done. I do think John Wooden was worried when Lew Alcindor came out from New York, that he would want to dominate the ball and the headlines. As it turned out, Alcindor and Bill Walton were the definition of selfless and team first. They had no egos. They did not care about the spotlight and in fact hated it. They would talk about their teammates. They cared about the win and playing right. Once they stepped on the court, they were selfless.

EC: Were there any players who tried to fuse their causes with basketball?

SHC: Yes. A player, Andy Hill came to Wooden during the National Moratorium Protest in 1969 and asked him to cancel practice to show people how UCLA basketball is standing up for a cause. This did not go over well. Wooden did not cancel. He looked at Hill and said ‘Andy you do not have to be at practice today. You do not have to be at practice ANY DAY.’ There were moments after the games where players protested. They did not silence the beliefs but knew how to keep them in check. They knew when and where. Bill Walton believed in Bruin basketball. While Walton and Alcindor had their stands on civil rights and the Vietnam War, they also had their stands on the greatness of UCLA basketball.

EC: Were there any examples of discontent?

SHC: Jim Wooden, John’s son, a proud Marine, told me how angry he was at Walton for protesting. He wanted to confront Walton. This was not a cocoon, but everyone knew where to draw the line and not cross it.

EC: How would Wooden have reacted to the way the NIL (Name-Image-Likeness) is structured?

SHC: He would have reacted from afar. John Wooden would not be coaching in today’s world. He hated to recruit but did recruit Lew Alcindor. Weekends were family time for him and his assistants. Now players are recruited but must be re-recruited to make sure they do not transfer. He would not have had anything to do with this version of the game: the recruiting, the money involved, and the emphasis on individual stardom. He would have either have gone into retirement or he would have become a high school English teacher somewhere. He was old school even then. He would never compromise the basketball side. He wanted the ball to be moving. The people who wanted to play fancy and who needed to take the shot were the antithesis of what John Wooden wanted.

EC: Would Wooden have like the style of UCLA’s current coach where he yells at his players?

SHC: He would not have approached him. But if someone around the current coach initiated the conversation he would have commented. One of the interesting parts of the book shows how people need to suspend what they know about Wooden in the 21^st century. He was a yeller. He would ride his players in practice. He was on officials during games. He would even rag on opposing players. He was fierce and driven as a coach. He would do whatever was in the rules to win the game. The John Wooden, America’s grandfather, was not Coach John Wooden of the sixties and seventies.

EC: Who would you consider the best UCLA player ever under Wooden?

SHC: Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton are impossible to decide. Most people feel that Kareem Abdul- Jabbar is the best player in college basketball history. Through my research I found out that is just not the case. Bill Walton has a very strong case. He does not like to be put on the same plateau. Other coaches and John Wooden and opponents said that it would be easier to play Alcindor than Walton. There is not a clear-cut number one the way most people believe.

EC: Are you writing another book?

SHC: I am scratching out a few ideas and would like to write another book.

THANK YOU!!

***

BIO: Elise Cooper has written book reviews and interviewed best-selling authors since 2009. Her reviews have covered several different genres, including thrillers, mysteries, women’s fiction, romance and cozy mysteries. An avid reader, she engages authors to discuss their works, and to focus on the descriptions of their characters and the plot. While not writing reviews, Elise loves to watch baseball and visit the ocean in Southern California, with her dog and husband.

Feature Post and Book Review: The Woman with a Purple Heart by Diane Hanks

Book Description

Based on the real life of Lieutenant Annie Fox, Chief Nurse of Hickam Hospital, The Woman with a Purple Heart is an inspiring WWII novel of heroic leadership, courage, and friendship that also exposes a shocking and shameful side of history.

Annie Fox will stop at nothing to serve her country. But what happens when her country fails her?

In November 1941, Annie Fox, an Army nurse, is transferred to Hickam Field, an air force base in Honolulu. The others on her transport plane are thrilled to work in paradise, but Annie sees her new duty station as the Army’s way of holding the door open to her retirement. But serving her country is her calling and she will go wherever she is told.

On December 7, Annie’s on her way to work when the first Japanese Zero fighter plane flies low over Hickam’s Parade Ground. The death and destruction that follow leave her no time to process what’s happening. She rallies her nurses, and they work to save as many lives as they can. But soon their small hospital is overwhelmed. Annie drives into Honolulu to gather supplies, nurses, and several women who will donate blood. However, the nurses are Japanese Americans, and the blood donors are prostitutes.

Under Annie’s leadership and working together in unexpected ways, they make it through that horrific day, when one of the Japanese American nurses and Annie’s friend, Kay, is arrested as a suspected subversive. As Hickam tries to recover, Annie works to find her friend and return Kay to her family. But Annie’s love for her country is put to the test. How can she reconcile the American bravery and resilience she saw on December 7 with the prejudice and injustice she witnesses just a few months later?

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/86174715-the-woman-with-a-purple-heart?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=Hkz4Tgj3cd&rank=1

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE WOMAN WITH A PURPLE HEART by Diane Hanks is an enlightening, engaging, and heartbreaking historical fiction based on just a moment in a truly heroic career Army nurse’s service on one of the most infamous days in American history. This is a story of an inspiring woman that I was unable to put down.

Lt. Annie Fox served her country in the battle hospitals of WWI, was transferred to the Philippines and now in November of 1941, she is transferred to Hickam Hospital on the Army/Air Force Base near Honolulu and Pearl Harbor. Rather than being excited, she senses this is the Army’s way of moving her into retirement, but she is determined to do her duty and train her new group of nurses to the best of her ability.

As she walks to the hospital to work on the morning of December 7^th, enemy fighter planes bring unbelievable death and destruction. As Annie does everything she can to support her young nurses and solve problems in unique ways to just survive the day and then the week, but her love of country is put to the test with the prejudice and injustice she witnesses in the aftermath.

I always love learning about new people and/or new things when I pick up historical fiction books and I learned so many new bits of information in this captivating story. Not only did this book enlighten me about Hickam Base, but the racial tensions that were already evident before the attack on the Hawaiian Islands during this time. The author brings Annie to life, and I felt real empathy for her as an older, single woman in that period and in the Armed Forces. I am so glad that Annie’s heroism, ingenuity, and bravery were recognized and rewarded in her lifetime, and I hope with this historical fiction book she can go on inspiring many more woman and girls who discover her story.

I highly recommend this wonderful historical fiction book!

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About the Author

Diane Hanks has a BFA in Creative Writing from Roger Williams University and an MA in Professional Writing & Publishing from Emerson College in Boston, Massachusetts. A medical writer by day, she has written numerous screenplays and recently returned to her first love—writing novels. Diane also is a mentor for the Writers Guild Initiative, which makes the art of storytelling accessible to underserved populations. When not writing, she enjoys walking by the river near her home.

Social Media Links

Website: https://www.dianehankswriter.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diane.hanks.754

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/diane-hanks

Friday Feature Author Interview with Elise Cooper: The Women by Kristin Hannah

Book Description

Women can be heroes. When twenty-year-old nursing student Frances “Frankie” McGrath hears these words, it is a revelation. Raised in the sun-drenched, idyllic world of Southern California and sheltered by her conservative parents, she has always prided herself on doing the right thing. But in 1965, the world is changing, and she suddenly dares to imagine a different future for herself. When her brother ships out to serve in Vietnam, she joins the Army Nurse Corps and follows his path.

As green and inexperienced as the men sent to Vietnam to fight, Frankie is over-whelmed by the chaos and destruction of war. Each day is a gamble of life and death, hope and betrayal; friendships run deep and can be shattered in an instant. In war, she meets—and becomes one of—the lucky, the brave, the broken, and the lost.

But war is just the beginning for Frankie and her veteran friends. The real battle lies in coming home to a changed and divided America, to angry protesters, and to a country that wants to forget Vietnam.

The Women is the story of one woman gone to war, but it shines a light on all women who put themselves in harm’s way and whose sacrifice and commitment to their country has too often been forgotten. A novel about deep friendships and bold patriotism, The Women is a richly drawn story with a memorable heroine whose idealism and courage under fire will come to define an era.

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Elise’s Thoughts

The Women by Kristin Hannah is yet another home run. It has become obvious for those who have read her books she must own stock in Kleenex because people will go through a tissue box. The novel is split into two parts: During the Vietnam War and after.

The story has a twenty-year-old, Frances “Frankie” McGrath, after finishing nursing school, deciding to serve in Vietnam as an Army nurse. Nothing can prepare Frankie for what awaits in Vietnam, a chaotic and destructive environment.

Her story shows how the friendship grew between three American military nurses serving in Vietnam: Frankie, Barb Johnson, and Ethel Flint, where they became a sisterhood.

These women served and sacrificed so much yet were dismissed and seamlessly forgotten. Vietnam was a dark thorn in American history, but it is also a tragedy the way those who served were treated when they came home. Through Frankie’s eyes readers can take a journey with her, going through bad times and ending with hope.

It is a story about patriotism, friendship, and remembrance. These women who served in Vietnam were not only strong, but also courageous. As Hannah so brilliantly points out they should not have any shame, because it all belongs to Americans who mistreated them.

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Author Interview

Elise Cooper: Why write about Vietnam vets now?

Kristin Hannah: I have wanted to write it for quite some time. It has been on my mind for a long while. I wanted to focus on returning from war. I saw this personally when I was a child. I think for a long time Vietnam was a subject people did not want to read about or talk about. I sought to show what life was like in the Vietnam hospitals with its horror, difficulty, and camaraderie. On a book tour I was told by both male and female Vietnam vets and their children how this was an unspoken trauma in their family for over fifty years. If the book helps in some small way this makes me happy.

EC: The female lead, Frankie, a Vietnam vet, seems to have the same journey as many vets who come home and feel misunderstood. Agree?

KH: It is a sad truth that we have often failed our veterans upon their return in how we care for them. This has been my soapbox for a while. If we as a country are going to ask people to put themselves in harm’s way for us it really behooves us to care for them fully when they come home. This is especially true of female veterans who are often forgotten in this equation.

EC: Your earlier book, Home Front, was similar but focused on a war on terror vet?

KH: My passion for wanting to focus on returning veterans led me to write Home Front. This was the beginning of my rearing up to write this book, The Women. By speaking with a Blackhawk pilot who deployed, Teresa Burgess, a warrant officer, helped me to find authenticity. She also helped me to understand when women are considered in combat and when they are not. This idea that someone can be a Blackhawk pilot rescuing soldiers in a hot landing zone and not be considered in combat just stayed with me. One of the things the Vietnam nurses heard when they came home and tried to get help for their emotional trauma, “well you were not in combat so why would you have any issues.”

EC: Your dedication in The Women was very powerful. Do you want to explain it?

KH: It summarizes the book. It is my discovery of why I wrote this story. It was shocking to see that even the male Vietnam vets brushed off what nurses went through. The women were continually confronted with their invisibility and lack of remembrance for their service even by the VA and those who should have known better. Women have served as nurses in wars for ages. It was weird to me how consistently they were overlooked. They have been marginalized or forgotten.

EC: You do explain that the Vietnam veterans, unlike other vets, were treated horrifically, which included being called baby killers, being flipped off, and spat upon. Why put it in?

KH: This is why I wanted to write about the Vietnam era. As a child I remember how they were treated when they came home. My best friend’s father was shot down and I wore his POW bracelet for decades. This stayed with me. I always wanted to write about this terrible and dark period of American history because it so important for healing, individually and as a nation. We need to recognize and remember their service. I think in many instances they lived in the shadows about what they went through.

EC: You also delve into PTSD?

KH: Remember this is a time when there was no help for PTSD for the men either. This is the beginning of the treatment and the understanding of it. The male vets faced daunting challenges to getting help as well, especially in the late 1960s. These vets came home to a toxic American reaction to their service. I do not think it can be overstated about how it affected their healing and wanting to get help. This was entirely new. The WWII vets came home to ticker tape parades of gratitude and honor, while the Vietnam vets, both male and female, came home to horror.

EC: Do you think PTSD played a huge role in the book?

KH: In my first draft I did not include it because I wrote about it before in Home Front and The Great Alone, the dark side of PTSD. But the truth is, in reading about the Vietnam era vets it felt wrong not to talk about this journey of theirs including emotional trauma, flashbacks, nightmares, and responses they did not understand. There was this layer of shame and silence that overlayed their service. I had to have Frankie experience what so many of her sister and male counterparts experienced.

EC: Do you think wars now and in the past helped women who served be more empowered, many breaking the glass ceiling?

KH: I agree. I met a woman who was a nurse over there, became a lawyer, and is now a judge in Southern California. She said that one of the things learned after being a nurse in Vietnam is that “we can do anything.” I thought how true and powerful. The women who I met have a wide range of careers. The 1960s was a time when women’s roles were much more prescribed, yet these women broke out of it and realized their own strength and power. Women should be able to do anything they want.

EC: How would you describe Frankie?

KH: I created Frankie to be a woman of her time, someone coming of age in the 50s and 60s. She realized her own strength but became broken by her Vietnam experience. Because of her lack of healing, she makes choices that destroy her. She must fight with her girlfriends at her side as well as her own self to become the best version of herself. She has learned from her mistakes, a survivor. At times very competent, angry, fragile, anxious, and unhinged. She is very smart, honest, and compassionate. Not necessary all these things all at once, a before and after. When she came home to stateside after the war, she is fighting between the woman she was raised to be and the woman the Vietnam War turned her into. It takes her a long time to accept this new version of herself. She had to forge an unfamiliar and sometimes an unsupported path.

EC: What about the friends Ethel and Barb?

KH: Barb was the rebel rouser. They both are loyal and helped each other and Frankie. They are strong and believed in each other. This is a presentation of female camaraderie during war. One thing I always heard is that war can be the best of times and the worst of times simultaneously. The best of times is the friendships they made, and they felt they did something that mattered. Barb, Ethel, and Frankie were literally saving lives. This all comes together that created powerful bonds.

EC: You have a recurring theme in all your books?

KH: Yes, female friendship is something I cared deeply about. It is important to me that Frankie was healed by herself but also with her girlfriends. They saved her.

EC: What about Frankie’s relationship with her father?

KH: I found in my research how often these women who served felt unsupported by their own families, both on leaving and on returning. The father was part of the greatest generation who taught Frankie to be proud of her family’s military service. He was proud when his son went off to war, but embarrassed and ashamed when his daughter did the same thing. I think many women in Vietnam did not have the support of their own families.

EC: Frankie’s love interests: Jamie and Rye?

KH: Rye was Frankie’s brother’s best friend. Over the course of her in country and at home life she falls in love several times. Some of these love stories prove to be helpful and some are difficult.

EC: The way Jamie was described I thought of Robert Redford in the movie, “The Way We Were”- do you agree?

KH: Me too. I said in the book that he looked like Robert Redford in the movie, “This Property Is Condemned.”

EC: Did the movie or TV show MASH come into your mind?

KH: I mention it in the book because it came out in 1972/73. I grew up watching it. It took me awhile to figure out what war were they talking about. I was astounded by those who said, “there were no women in Vietnam,” considering MASH was on. Women have served as nurses throughout wars. How is it that these women were completely forgotten, even by the people who ought to know better.

EC: The emphasis in the book is that those women who served in Vietnam were forgotten?

KH: And they were not thought about. I saw this cartoon where someone pulled a military uniform out of the attic, and someone asked when did your grandfather serve. They responded, “it was my grandmother.” It is so indicative to me that people automatically think soldiers are just male. There were over 10,000 women serving in Vietnam.

EC: Is The Nightingale still going to be made into a movie?

KH: It got stalled for a couple of years because of the pandemic and then got tripped up because of the writer’s strike and the actor’s strike. I think we are finally on track to film in 2024, fingers crossed.

EC: Do you have any control over your books being made into movies?

KH: Control is not a word I would use. For The Nightingale they have been good about keeping me involved that includes me reading the script and giving input. This is as much as I can hope for as a novelist since I do not want to do the heavy lifting. So, I must give up control to the people who hopefully know what they are doing.

EC: Is this book, The Women, going to be made into a movie?

KH: Warner Bros. has picked it up and they want to do a big screen. I do not have control, but I do have input. I feel very much I am a part of the team, and this is a great feeling.

EC: Next book?

KH: Right now, I am thinking about some things.

THANK YOU!!

***

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: The Other Murder by Kevin G. Chapman

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for THE OTHER MURDER by Kevin G. Chapman on this Black Tide Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Sometimes, the most dangerous thing . . . is the truth.

For disgraced cable news producer Hannah Hawthorne, covering the shooting of a pretty NYU sophomore is a chance for redemption. When the story snowballs into a media circus, Hannah’s reporting fans the sensationalistic flames and earns her acclaim. The tragic murder prompts protests and vigils that further magnify the story.

Meanwhile, Paulo, a neighborhood newspaper reporter, is following the other murder in Washington Square Park that same night – a young Hispanic boy. He discovers an unexpected connection that is political dynamite. When Hannah and Paulo team up, they uncover disturbing facts, leading them to question everything they thought they knew. It also leads them to the man who might be the killer.

When the story is ready to explode, the truth may be hotter than anyone can handle. Breaking the next scoop could ruin Paulo’s paper and wreck Hannah’s career – and it could get them both killed.

If you like David Baldacci’s page-turners, Michael Connelly’s cops, and Sara Paretsky’s quirky characters, you will love The Other Murder.

TRIGGER WARNING: Heavy theme of racism in the context of the news media’s coverage.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/180169378-the-other-murder?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=V8oDoYmyE3&rank=1

Universal link for the book on Amazon

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My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

THE OTHER MURDER by Kevin G. Chapman is a crime thriller/police procedural with a twist in the storytelling that shines the light on media bias today. This is a tour de force standalone crime fiction novel that I could not put down.

Two people are murdered on opposite sides of Central Park. One a female white NYU student and the other a male Hispanic high school student. The media latches on to the white female’s murder and the story broadcasts across the country, while the Hispanic male’s story is largely ignored. No one believes the two may be tied together.

The story is written with intertwining perspectives between two journalists investigating the murders and two NYPD detectives investigating the murders. The investigation is very well plotted and paced between both groups, but what made this an exceptional read for me was the integration throughout the story of differences in handling, investigating, and reporting on crime depending on gender, ethnicity, and social class of the victim. It shines a spotlight on what media organizations believe readers want to read vs. the entire truth of the story.

All the characters in this story are fully developed, relatable and realistic, both good and bad. The plot is believable on every level. There is nothing I would want to change.

I highly recommend this brilliant crime thriller/police procedural!

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About the Author

Kevin G. Chapman is an attorney specializing in labor and employment law and an independent author. In 2021, Kevin finished the first five books in the Mike Stoneman Thriller series. Righteous Assassin (Mike Stoneman Thriller #1), was named one of the top 20 Mystery/Thrillers of 2019 by the Kindle Book Review and was a finalist for the Chanticleer Book Review CLUE award. Deadly Enterprise (Mike Stoneman Thriller #2) was also named a top-20 Mystery/Thriller of 2020 by the Kindle Book Review and made the Short-List for the 2020 CLUE Award. Book #3, Lethal Voyage, was the winner of the 2021 Kindle Book Award and a Finalist for the CLUE and for the InD’Tale Magazine RONE Award. Book #4 in the series, Fatal Infraction, was named Best Police Procedural of the year by the Chanticleer Book Review, and book #5 (Perilous Gambit) was published November 24, 2021. Kevin has also written a serious political drama, A Legacy of One, originally published in 2016, which was short-listed for the Chanticleer Somerset Award for literary fiction. A Legacy of One was re-published in a newly re-edited and revised second edition in 2021. Kevin recently completed a stand-alone mystery/thriller titled Dead Winner, published in late 2022, winner of the 2023 CLUE Award (best suspense/thriller), and he is working on a stand-alone mystery titled The Other Murder. Kevin is a resident of Central New Jersey and is a graduate of Columbia College and Boston University School of Law.

Social Media Links

Website: https://kevingchapman.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KevinGChapman

Twitter: https://twitter.com/KGChapman

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/kevin-g-chapman

ARC Feature Post and Book Review: Mind Games by Nora Roberts

Book Description

As they do each June, the Foxes have driven the winding roads of Appalachia to drop off their children for a two-week stay at their grandmother’s. Here, twelve-year-old Thea can run free and breathe in the smells of pine and fresh bread and Grammie’s handmade candles. But as her parents head back to suburban Virginia, they have no idea they’re about to cross paths with a ticking time bomb.

Back in Kentucky, Thea and her grandmother Lucy both awaken from the same nightmare. And though the two have never discussed the special kind of sight they share, they know as soon as their tearful eyes meet that something terrible has happened.

The kids will be staying with Grammie now in Redbud Hollow, and thanks to Thea’s vision, their parents’ killer will spend his life in supermax. Over time, Thea will make friends, build a career, find love. But that ability to see into minds and souls still lurks within her, and though Grammie calls it a gift, it feels more like a curse—because the inmate who shattered her childhood has the same ability. Thea can hear his twisted thoughts and witness his evil acts from miles away. He knows it, and hungers for vengeance. A long, silent battle will be waged between them—and eventually bring them face to face, and head to head…

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/195791352-mind-games?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=E3m2MFm1v6&rank=2

Expected Publication: May 24, 2024

***

My Book Review

RATING: 5 out of 5 Stars

MIND GAMES by Nora Roberts is an amazingly rich and layered multi-genre story. It follows the young protagonist, Thea Fox, between the ages of twelve to twenty-seven from a traumatic family event to her ultimate battle and HEA. This book is a mix of family drama, romance, romantic suspense, murder mystery, generational paranormal psychic abilities all rolled together into an engaging story set in a small town in the Kentucky Appalachian Mountains.

School is out in Virginia and twelve-year-old Thea and ten-year-old Rem are on their way to spend two weeks with their Grandma Lucy in the Kentucky foothills. They always look forward to helping with the animals and gardens, helping with their grandma’s home-based company, and running free in the mountains. But this year, something terrible happened to their parents and they will be staying with their grandma in Redbud Hollow.

Thea has the gift of sight that has passed down through generations of women in her family and she is able to use it to help police capture her parent’s killer. But the killer has the same gift, and he uses it to stay tied to Thea. A mental battle wages between them over the next fifteen years until they are face to face and Thea is ready for a final game.

If you loved the sweeping story in Identity, you will love this story just as much. The parents’ murder is heartbreaking, but the family love between Lucy, Thea, and Rem warms and heals the break, at least partially. Then you get to read how Thea strengthens not only physically, but mentally and learns to deal with her gift as well as how to handle the intrusions and attacks from the killer. I fell in love with all the well-developed characters in this story, especially the son of Thea’s love interest. I loved the ending, not only because it ends on a HEA, but because of Thea’s solution and use of her gift to obtain it even if it could end her own.

I highly recommend this new multi-genre story from the author that never disappoints!

***

About the Author

Nora Roberts is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than 200 novels, including Hideaway, Under Currents, Come Sundown, The Awakening, Legacy, and coming in November 2021 — The Becoming — the second book in The Dragon Heart Legacy. She is also the author of the futuristic suspense In Death series written under the pen name J.D. Robb. There are more than 500 million copies of her books in print.

Social Media Links

Website: https://noraroberts.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/noraroberts

BookBub: https://www.bookbub.com/authors/nora-roberts

Book Tour/Feature Post and Book Review: Umbrate by A.D. Jones

Hi, everyone!

Today I am sharing my Feature Post and Book Review for UMBRATE by A.D. Jones on this Black Phoenix Book Tour.

Below you will find a book description, my book review, an about the author section, and the author’s social media links. Enjoy!

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Book Description

Welcome to Dalton
Home to Humans, Dwarves, Elves and the shadowy Umbral Populace.

Detective Vanic Bradley works hard to keep the peace, coming down hard on the criminal underbelly of the city.

After putting his life on the line multiple times in recent weeks, all he wanted was a day off work to spend time with his son, and re-evaluate his place in the world – but forces beyond his control have other ideas.

For reasons unknown, he will find himself in a race against time as two hundred innocent citizens become collateral damage in a murderous plot centered around him.

Umbrate is the debut Urban Fantasy crime thriller by A.D Jones, that will offer up his take on a fantasy setting that should be welcomed by many readers, regardless of their genre tastes.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/199395214-umbrate?ac=1&from_search=true&qid=RYgA5KMF4E&rank=1

Universal link for the book on Amazon

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My Book Review

RATING: 4 out of 5 Stars

UMBRATE by A.D. Jones is an engaging debut urban fantasy crime thriller that introduces us to a new world that is like ours but besides humans is also inhabited by dwarves, elves and a dark and shadowy species known as the Umbral. This is also a fast-paced crime thriller. While this novel is a short standalone, it could easily lead to a series.

Umbral can only come out in the night or in protected environments that will not let the sun touch them and even as the government has tried to assimilate them, there has always been a deep prejudice towards them. Detective Vanic Bradley works the dangerous night shift and does not like Umbral. After being wounded on the job, Vanic just wants a day off to enjoy with his young son. They end up at the mall and are suddenly trapped inside with a killer who is willing to turn everyone else into collateral damage to get to Vanic.

I really enjoyed this story and was easily pulled into this new urban fantasy world. The crime thriller plot is what you would find in many thrillers, but this story has distinct races from fantasy stories as well as the new Umbral race. Vanic is well developed for this shorter novel. He is divorced, but on good terms with his ex, a loving father, has a current love interest and is a rising star in law enforcement ranks, but he does have a prejudice against Umbral which goes all the way back to his youth. There is plenty of action, especially once everyone is enclosed in the mall, and this is when all the major secondary characters become known and help in the fight.

This is a fast read with an interesting new world, gripping thriller action and by a debut author. I am looking forward to seeing what will come next from this author.

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About the Author

A.D Jones lives in the North of England; where he spends his time favoring books over people and can be found writing or devouring said books to review online. He loves Coca-Cola, Twin Peaks, all things horror, and cult movies. He dislikes the movie ‘The Karate Kid’ with a passion that burns brighter than the sun.

His debut novel – Umbrate was released in October 2023 to positive feedback and his next book: Sacrificial Waters is scheduled for release sometime in 2024.

He also has multiple short stories in print through publishing houses such as Dark Village Publications and January Ember Press.

You can find him on Instagram – the_evergrowing_library